The Goodman Initiative - Be'er Sheva

If Today Is Monday, We Must Be In...

Natalie Blitt — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:16:43 +0000

"If Today is Monday, We Must Be in..." allows campers to learn about specific places in Israel by "visiting" a different place one day each week.

Curriculum Themes:

A Land & Its People

Materials Required:

Program Duration:

15 Minutes

Number of Campers:

Large Group (75+ campers)

Age of Campers:

Core Learnings:

Israel is a small but very diverse country, as seen by the differences between each of the cities and locations campers will "visit"

Note: Depending on the location of the week, the core learnings may differ and address one or more of the essential questions below

Explanation:

"If Today is Monday, We Must Be In..." is not a stand alone program, rather it is a way to turn one day a week into Israeli geography day.
Geographic highlights of Israel may include:

Cities:

Jerusalem
Tel Aviv
Haifa
Eliat
Be'er Sheva
Sderot
Degania

Sites:

The Negev
The Dead Sea
The Golan Heights

Choose one day a week that will be the Israeli Geography Day. On that day, include the following elements:

A one page sheet that includes a picture of the city and fun facts can be posted around camp, in the bunks, etc.
Two to three counselors will respresent the Israeli place. They will have costumes that identify them as the place (i.e. a special hat or sign). The counselors will have a few stories they can tell and a bunch of quiz questions. Campers can approach these counselors during the day to ask them about their city or ask them for quiz questions. If the campers successfully answer the quiz questions, they get special "shekel" tokens.
Schlichim or counselors who have visited the locations can add their own personalized fun facts -- either during announcements, at meals, or at other moments.
At the end of the day, the camper who has the most shekel tokens wins a prize!

Background Cards:

Supporting Materials:

Curricular Subjects:

Soldiers Eat S’mores Too!

Carl Schrag — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:02:32 +0000

This activity provides opportunities for high-school-aged campers to delve into the reality of the military challenges facing Israel. Starting with a late-night sneak-out, progressing to a campfire and a military mission, the program culminates with the Goodman Educator and shlichim sharing stories from Israel's wars.

Curriculum Themes:

A People’s Hope

Materials Required:

Program Duration:

90 minutes

Physical Space:

Number of Campers:

A Division/Age Group (30 – 50 campers)

Age of Campers:

Core Learnings:

Key milestones in Israel's fight for survival: the War of Independence, the Six Day War, and the Yom Kippur War

Grapple with the reality of war as experienced by Israeli staff (and, where applicable, campers)

Explanation:

Step 1: The Surprise

As campers are getting ready for bed, staff rushes into the cabins and announces that they have 15 minutes to prepare for a very special late-night activity. Instruct them to wear sturdy shoes, bring flashlights, and be in the appointed place in exactly 15 minutes.

Step 2: Gadna Training

The facilitator greets everyone and announces that the campers will undergo a brief military training exercise, a mini-Gadna activity. The shlichim lead them through an obstacle course and a late-night run around camp. During this activity, shlichim bark orders at campers and exert enough pressure so that the participants feel they are being challenged, but not so much as to intimidate or overwhelm them. (The GE should plan this with shlichim in advance, and keep careful tabs on how it is being implemented in real time). This entire exercise should last about 15 minutes. When everyone returns to the assembly point, campers gather around a campfire for another comfortable setting that is conducive to storytelling, refreshments are served.

Step 3: War Stories

After everyone has enjoyed their snacks, the facilitator (ideally one of the shlichim) tells the group:
- "Tonight you are going to learn about the wars Israel has fought since its creation. But first, we wanted to make sure you understand a bit about what it means to be a soldier. Being a soldier means you follow orders from your commanders. It means you are prepared to work hard all the time. It means your life is on the line for a cause that means everything to you. That's what we tried to show you as we were running around camp just now, and that's what we are going to show you by sharing our stories with you now."
At this point, another shaliach (or two) step up and address the group to share very brief reflections on what it means to serve in the IDF. They stress the idea of defending their homes and their families, and they also speak about the camaraderie among soldiers in a unit.
Now, a series of presenters (ideally shlichim, but American staff can also participate) shares with the group a personal story about each of 4 Israeli wars (War of Independence, Six Day War, Yom Kippur War, and Operation Cast Lead). The GE should have worked with each of these presenters in advance to craft a story that can be told in first person about the war. (If the presenter has a personal connection to the war, such as a grandparent, parent, or family friend who fought in the war, then this should be the basis for the story. Otherwise, it can be a fictionalized account, but should be told in first person nonetheless). Each story should take 2-4 minutes to tell, and the presenter can engage campers in Q&A before handing the floor to the next presenter.

Step 4: Wrap-up

After all 4 presenters have shared their "personal" war stories and campers have had ample opportunities to ask questions, the facilitator tells the group:
- All of you have spent the past hour hearing stories about the people who have fought in Israel's wars. Here in America, we tend to think of war as something for history class, the movies, or video games. But in Israel, war is a very real part of every person’s reality. Not because there’s a war going on every day in every part of the country, but because the possibility of war is always very real, and it touches the lives of every Israeli. You've heard how it’s touched the lives of some of our friends, our shlichim, and you've heard stories from the past 70+ years that sum up highlights of some of the most important wars that Israel has fought.
Time permitting, the facilitator can invite shlichim to share more of their own personal reflections and ecnourage campers to ask more personal questions.
To wrap up the activity, the facilitator stresses that the IDF is a people's army supported by near-universal conscription and asks the campers to think about a couple of questions that few Israelis ever think twice about:
- What is worth fighting for?
- What, if anything, is worth dying for?
At the conclusion, staff bring campers back to their cabins and to bed. Campers sleep in late tomorrow.

Variations:

There is a lot of material in this activity, and it my be too much to do in the middle of the night.

Options include:

Break the activity into two separate parts that can be started at night and completed the following day.
Do the entire activity as an evening program.
Forgo the campfire discussions focused on past wars, and instead ask the shlichim to discuss their personal experiences in the army.

Background Cards:

Supporting Materials:

War Stories Background.docx

Curricular Subjects:

The Edible Map of Israel: A Land of Milk, Honey, and…CHOCOLATE?

Natalie Blitt — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:13:13 +0000

Help your campers discover the land of Israel -- at least the edible version! After a brief orientation about the geography and topography of the country, campers will create their own maps of Israel out of ice cream and candy (or veggies or cake or you name it!). The maps will be photographed with their creators, and then everyone will eat their creations.

Curriculum Themes:

A Land & Its People

Materials Required:

Program Duration:

90 minutes

Physical Space:

Number of Campers:

Age of Campers:

Core Learnings:

Campers will learn how to say 'north,' 'south,' 'east,' 'west' and 'center' in Hebrew

Campers will know the shape and some of the geographic regions of the State of Israel: Galilee, Golan, Center, and Negev (desert)

Campers will be able to locate the following cities on the map of Israel: Haifa, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Be'er Sheva, and Eilat

Explanation:

Stage 1: Build the Map

Divide the pieces of the puzzle map between the campers, giving each of them as many pieces as possible.
Explain to the campers that you are going to build the map together but you must do it in silence -- with the exception of being able to speak 5 words: tzafon, darom, mizrakh, ma'arav, and merkaz. Have them repeat the words a few times, and then do a few quick exercises with them. You can identify one part of the field as each of the directions and then either play "simon says" with moving in different directions, or have them just run toward each area. Once you feel that they can remember the directions (with the aid of the giant compass), have them build the map, reminding them that they can only give each other help by using the five Hebrew words (i.e. if someone is holding a piece with Eilat, another camper could tell them "darom" if they didn't know where it went).
If directions are too hard for younger campers, have them construct the map in silence.

Stage 2: Discover the Map

Once the map is complete, seat the campers and any staff around it. Ask them what they noticed as they put it together?
Remind the campers that while this is a huge map, the State of Israel is actually very small:
- It can fit into the state of Wisconsin 8 times
- It is only 263 miles from north to south (i.e. about 4 hours on the highway -- is that further than the distance some people drove to camp?)
- At its narrowest point, it is only 9 miles across
Have campers point out places they've been (if any) or what they know about places on the map. Israelis or North American staff members who have been to Israel should join in with stories or information about the various places. In the absence of people who have personal experiences in the various locations, you can use the information and pictures provided. You will not be able to paint a picture of all the places on the map, but campers should learn about:
- The desert, forest areas, mountains, and the Dead Sea
- The uniqueness of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Be'er Sheva, and Eilat.

Stage 3: Building Your Own Maps

Bring the campers into the dining hall or outside (provided that it isn't too hot!). Campers should sit around tables and each small group of 3-4 campers receives a foil tray. Pointing to small maps of Israel, the counselors challenge each group to build a map of Israel using ice cream, candies, and sprinkles. You may want to include:
- chocolate, vanilla, and mint ice cream
- chocolate syrup
- chocolate sprinkles
- M&M’s
- Hershey’s kisses
- jelly beans
- green jelly candies
- candy fish
- graham crackers
Alternatively, you could use sheet cakes with icing, or trays with veggies.
Counselors distribute scoops of ice cream and campers select colored candies and food coloring as needed to depict the State of Israel. Campers should be reminded that their maps will be judged, so they should make deliberate choices about candy and decorations.
When all campers’ work is complete, a staff member should photograph each map twice: once by itself and once with its creators.
The campers then eat their work!

Variations:

Variations in format

If this activity is done in a large group, you can stagger the groups who look around the big map and then who make their creations.
For younger campers, the explanation about the map of Israel should be curtailed and counselors should help with the creation of the candy maps.
This program can be done as part of a cooking activity.
You can also create a giant map of Israel with lots of little cupcakes. Campers could work on one area of this edible map by decorating their cupcake.
While not as delicious, this activity can also be done with art supplies.

Background Cards:

Supporting Materials: